In M. Scott Peck?s [i]In Search of Stones[/i], he says that [i]any effective person in society is run by the clock because society is run by the clock[/i]. I tend to agree. But there was one time in particular when I was a little bit late, and it really worked against me.
About eight years ago I was working with some guys that, well … let?s say, they weren?t the findest kind, and we?ll leave it at that. We were attending a conference in Midtown Manhattan, and the three of us had a meetinIn M. Scott Peck?s [i]In Search of Stones[/i], he says that [i]any effective person in society is run by the clock because society is run by the clock[/i]. I tend to agree. But there was one time in particular when I was a little bit late, and it really worked against me.
About eight years ago I was working with some guys that, well … let?s say, they weren?t the findest kind, and we?ll leave it at that. We were attending a conference in Midtown Manhattan, and the three of us had a meeting there with some executives at 9 a.m.
I was living on the Upper West Side of Manhattan at the time, and I thought I gave myself enough of a head start to be punctual. Turns out I was about 10 minutes late. This was back in the days before heavy cell phone use?and afterwards, I caught big-time abuse for my tardiness. Not because I ran a little late due to early-morning subway congestion, and not in that funny, ball-breaking way, but in that we hate your guts anyway and this is just another reason why you suck kinda way.
The funny thing is, I?m extremely punctual overall. In fact, I hate being late. Hate it, hate it, hate it. Normally, I would much rather be 20 minutes early than 10 seconds late. But this one time I was a little late because … well, I?m not entirely sure why, as it was a long time ago and I can?t remember, but I?m sure at least one factor was my not wanting to be in a room with those wonks one second more than I needed to, as they weren?t making life pleasant for me overall. I tried timing my trip so that I would get there with just enough seconds to spare. Didn?t quite work out.
That said, I want to be clear: Nobody else?and no other circumstance?made me late. I made me late. That was the last time I did that.
I?ve had many conversations with people over the years about this idea?being on time?and most seem to agree that being punctual is the way to go. Of course, we all know that things happen: there?s unexpected traffic, cars break down, extreme weather, etc. Being flexible goes a long way, and when we give each other a break, life seems to go more smoothly.
But don?t you notice how some people are pretty much always on time and others are pretty much always late? That?s not an accident. It?s intentional. I?ll explain.
Let?s say that Fred, who?s chronically late, wins a special lottery?a $150 million lump-sum payout, tax-free. But there?s one condition. To claim his prize, he must?must?show up at the collection office at 6 a.m. on the dot. Rain or shine. Blizzard or hurricane. Broken leg or blindness. No exceptions of any kind, no do-overs. He can get there by any means and with any help he wants, but Fred has to physically show up.
And if he?s even one minute late?even one second late; literarily one second, one blip of the second hand?he forfeits the entire $150 million. He gets nothing. Nada. Zip. Zero.
It?s gone.
Do you think Fred, who?s chronically late, would be there on time to collect his $150 million? You bet your you-know-what he?d be on time! He?d be there three hours early!
So Fred has the ability to show up on time; it?s just that he often chooses not to be.
Being late bugs me.
And yet there was a time for me in college, my (second) senior year, if I remember correctly, when I actually experimented with the idea of being a little late, this sense of, what?s the big deal if I miss by a few minutes? Will the world really come to an end? And what I mean is, I intentionally came late to class a few times. I intentionally left my apartment later than I knew I should when I was on my way to pick someone up.
Yeah … it didn?t go well. Didn?t like it. Not for me. Nobody was particularly impressed with my tardiness. So after a few weeks, I gave it up, and went back to being on time.
I?ve been accused from time to time of being overly intense about a few things (no, really … some people actually say that about me; crazy, I know). Is this one of those things? Don?t know. But while I realize that I might not get any extra points in life for being on time, I definitely don?t get them for being late.
